Global giant grabs heavyweight construction partner in Perth

by
Sophie Schroder |
03 Nov 2014

Squire Patton Boggs (SPB) has announced the appointment of talented construction partner Brendan Reilly to the firm’s Perth office.

Reilly was previously partner and head of construction and infrastructure at Allion Legal, and his appointment follows the lateral hire of former colleagues Denise McLaughlin and Melissa Koo, who joined the Squire Patton Boggs construction and services contracts team last month.

Over the past 18 months, Squire Patton Boggs has hired a number of senior lawyers in the construction and projects field in Australia.

This latest appointment has strengthened the SPB construction and services contracts team to include 4 partners and 10 staff.

Reilly has over 15 years of experience advising on construction and infrastructure projects from a contentious and non-contentious perspective, particularly in the mining, energy, transport and infrastructure sectors.

He has acted for both owners and contractors on projects in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and parts of South East Asia. He also has in-house experience gained from senior corporate counsel roles at John Holland Group and Hancock Prospecting.

Reilly told Australasian Lawyer that now is the right time to bolster the SPB construction practice in Perth.

“Australia is host to some of the largest and most complex mega-projects in the world. Mega-projects, by their very nature, present a unique set of challenges for both owners and contractors and, consequently, their respective advisors,” he says.

“As these projects progress toward completion, the likelihood of disputes and disagreements increases. Those disputes are becoming increasingly large and complex and can require substantial resources. Further, major infrastructure projects are in the feasibility stage and when approved, will create a significant source of transactional work for our team.”

It’s forecasted that approximately $150 billion worth of these major infrastructure projects will near completion in the next 1-2 years, Reilly says.

From a legal perspective, this means law firms are keeping close watch through each phase of the construction cycle.

“The flow of work we are experiencing at the moment indicates that the resolution of outstanding commercial issues will be a focus for owners and contractors alike. At the same time, we will be working with our clients to secure work throughout the construction and infrastructure lifecycle over the next 1-5 years,” he says.

SPB managing partner John Poulsen says Reilly’s appointment is another strategic step in the growth and development of the firm’s construction practice.

“Brendan’s first-rate experience acting as a lawyer and advocate in litigation, mediations, dispute resolution boards, ICC arbitrations and UNCITRAL arbitrations, is valuable at a time when over $150 billion in energy and resources construction projects heading for completion are encountering significant contractual disputes,” he says.